Brussels Mixed, a combination of bobbin and needle lace, is secured to mother of pearl staves and shaped to create this elegant fan. The needle lace in the central rose design is gauzy point de gaze, while the border is Duchesse de Bruxelles bobbin lace. Note the delicate etching and metallic tracing on the mother of pearl.

Do you consider lace feminine, and if so, why?

Responses

Posted by Julia Tang

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Lace is revolved around the term delicacy. Delicate, as fragile of a fabric it is. Delicate, as in the workmanship used to produce it. Lace is an expensive element of fashion because it has a handcrafted nature, which, in the past, limited the availability of the luxurious material to only the rich and noble. Over the course of the history, lacemaking has been produced mainly by women, but men also took part by drafting the pattern of the material. As lace was used as a mean to display wealth, beauty and style, one of the biggest association with lace is weddings. In 1840, Queen Victoria was adorned with lace on her wedding dress and veil. This became a sort of standard to all future brides. Lace soon became more widespread in the variety of its use, being incorporated on the woman’s corsets, train, and undergarments. As lace became more and more associated with a woman’s body, it developed a more feminine quality. In addition, delicacy is a quality that people oftentimes associated with women, both physically and mentally. Because of that, soft and sheer materials such as lace is compared to a woman’s skin, which is another reason that contributes to why I believe lace is considered feminine. Both lace and women are beautiful, and should be handled with care.